Inquiry into Algerians with mouth taped shut on Rome plane

Controversy in Italy after image posted on the web

(ANSAmed) - ROME, APRIL 19 - The Court of Civitavecchia has
opened a case into the incident of two Algerian immigrants
deported on an Alitalia Rome-Tunis flight last Tuesday, during
which their mouths were scotch-taped. The incident has sparked
harsh criticism in Italy.

The inquiry has not yet put any individuals under investigation
for the time being nor have any criminal charges been filed.
The incident was reported by the well-known film director
Francesco Sperandeo, who was on the flight and took a photo with
his cell phone, to later post it on his Facebook profile
leading to its spread over the web.

The image shows two men seated at the back of the plane, their
hands tied with plastic handcuffs and their mouths taped with
packaging tape, plus a protective mask over their faces. The
complaints made their way even into parliament, with the Chamber
of Deputies Speaker Gianfranco Fini asking the government to
address the matter "with the utmost urgency". Speaking of the
incident, the head of police Antonio Manganelli asked the border
police officers at Fiumicino airport - where the immigrants had
departed - to submit a report. The two men appear to be Algerian
and made a stop-over in Rome on a Tunis-Istanbul flight.

Arriving in Fiumicino on the morning of April 15, they appear to
have refused to board the plane for Turkey twice. At that point
the Italian authorities initiated refoulement procedures, which
meant they were to be returned to the place from which they came
come, Tunis. The decision to put a protective mask taped onto
their faces seems to have come from the passengers themselves,
say the police. The immigrants were in fact trying to bite their
lips, causing them to bleed, and then trying to spit the blood
at the other passengers and thus avoid being embarked on the
flight.

In the photo it is evident though that the tape is not over the
mask but over the man's mouth. According to claims from the
Judiciary Court, such a treatment is "unconstitutional" and
whoever committed the act could be found guilty of abuse of
authority and violence against others.

"This is the culture and democracy of Europe," wrote Sperandeo
in his Facebook post, pointing out that "everything took place
with the utter indifference of the passengers". Following his
complaints, he received the reply that it happened to be a
normal police procedure.

There have been protests in parliament coming from several
parties, with the president of the Democratic Party Rosy Bindi
speaking of "shameful images which we would like not to ever
seen" and of "unacceptable treatment". Surprise was expressed by
the Italian spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) Laura Boldrini: repatriating people is
"sometimes difficult", she admitted, because the people involved
"put up every kind of resistance". UNHCR, said Boldrini, is not
contrary in principle to deportation, because "a person who
enters irregularly and doesn't request asylum must be
repatriated by law. It is important, though, that the way and
manner of repatriation is in line with the dignity of the
person." (ANSAmed).